Bachelor's Degree
With a flexible curriculum in which you learn by doing, the Philip Merrill College of Journalism prepares you for the career you want — in any number of fields.
Practice real-world journalism from day one and develop a wide variety of media skills, whether you're interested in:
- Local news
- Investigations
- Data and AI
- Public affairs and politics
- Sports
- Broadcast
- Digital design, graphics and web development
- Audience engagement and social media
- Documentary and video production
- Business and money
- Podcasting
- Photojournalism
- Entertainment journalism
Curriculum
For General Education requirements, consult the current Undergraduate Catalog. Transfer students, please see the General Education Transfer Policy.
Students are required to earn a minimum of 122 credits. Accredited journalism programs require majors to complete successfully approximately two-thirds of their coursework in areas other than journalism and communication. The Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland adheres to this nationwide policy. In practical terms, this means that of the 122 minimum credits required for graduation, a journalism student must take 42 credits in journalism (numbered 100 or above). Of the remaining 80 credits, a minimum of 65 must be earned in liberal-arts designated courses.
The Philip Merrill College of Journalism stipulates that 57 of the total credits must be taken in upper-level courses (courses numbered 300-499).
These courses are required for all journalism majors, regardless of whether journalism is a student’s primary or secondary major:
Students must complete the following coursework complementing the university’s general education requirements. For the university’s general education requirements, consult the General Education program in the current Undergraduate Catalog.
- Abstract thinking skills requirement (nine credits)
- One three-credit statistics course from the following list: BIOM301, BMGT230, CCJS200, ECON230, ECON321, EDMS451, GEOG306, INST314, JOUR405, PSYC200, SOCY201, STAT400 or a more advanced statistics course.
- A minimum of six credits through one or a combination of the following options. Should a student choose to combine the options, at least one language course must be at the intermediate level:
- Language: up to two courses with at least one course at the intermediate level and no more than one course at the introductory level. (High school equivalency does not satisfy this requirement.)
- Math/Statistics/Computer Science: up to two courses
- Any mathematics (MATH) course numbered 107 or higher.
- An approved programming course such as CMSC106, CMSC122, CMSC125, CMSC131, INST123, INST126 or BMGT301 (at least three credits).
- Public Speaking: one course from COMM100, 107, 200, or 230.
- History: one course from HIST200 or 201
- Behavioral or Social Science: one course from ANTH260; PSYC100 or 221; SOCY100, or 105.
- Economics: one course from ECON200 or 201.
- Government and Politics: GVPT170
- Supporting Area:
- Four upper-level (numbered 300 or higher) courses for a minimum of 12 credits in a supporting field (cannot be in Communication).
- Upper Level Electives: Four additional upper-level (numbered 300 or higher) courses for a minimum of 12 credits (cannot be in Communication).
- JOUR152 Introduction to Storytelling with Code (1 credit)
- JOUR200 Journalism History, Roles, and Structures (3 credits)
- JOUR201 News Writing and Reporting I (3 credits)
- JOUR320 News Writing and Reporting II: Multiplatform (3 credits)
- JOUR321-389 Journalism Skills #1 (3 credits)
- JOUR321-389 Journalism Skills #2 (3 credits)
- JOUR352 Interactive Design and Development (3 credits)
- JOUR396 Supervised Internship (2 credits)
- JOUR402 Journalism Law and Ethics (3 credits)
- JOUR410-469 Journalism and Society (3 credits)
- JOUR470-479 Media Research (3 credits)
- JOUR Capstone Experience (3 credits)
Menu 1 (students must choose one course)
- JOUR262 or JOUR347 News Videography (3 credits)
- JOUR370 Photojournalism (3 credits)
Menu 2 (students must choose one course)
- JOUR202 News Editing (3 credits)
- JOUR262 or JOUR347 News Videography (3 credits)
- JOUR360 News Writing and Reporting II: Broadcast (3 credits)
- JOUR370 Photojournalism (3 credits)
- JOUR371 Feature Writing (3 credits)
Menu 3 (students must choose one course)
- JOUR321-389 Journalism Skills #3 (3 credits)
- JOUR410-469 Journalism and Society #2 (3 credits)
- JOUR470-479 Media Research #2 (3 credits)
TOTAL JOUR CREDITS: 42*
- Completion of JOUR201. Enrollment in JOUR201 requires passing JOUR181 with a grade of “C-” or better or scoring an 80 or above on the grammar diagnostic, passing JOUR200 with a grade of “C-” or better, and passing ENGL101 with a grade of “C-” or better. ACT or SAT SCORES ARE NOT ACCEPTED FOR THE GRAMMAR REQUIREMENT.
- “C-” Requirement. Students must earn a grade of “C-” or higher in the following courses in order to have them count for the major: JOUR152, JOUR200, JOUR201, JOUR202, JOUR262, JOUR320, JOUR347, JOUR352, JOUR360, JOUR361, JOUR370, JOUR371, JOUR402 and any course that qualifies as a Capstone Experience. This minimum grade must be achieved prior to taking courses for which the aforementioned courses serve as a prerequisite.
- Minimum GPA. Students must have at least a 2.0 GPA in their major to earn a degree.
*Students can count up to six JOUR credits (beyond those required) toward their degree if they take additional courses from JOUR321-389, 410-469 or 470-479 in place of two UL Electives.
Undergraduate Program Mission
Our undergraduate mission is an uncompromising dedication to the principles of the journalism profession, with training in evolving types of newsgathering and delivery.